Embracing Amma and Ashram life
Jacky Storey
'Let all the beings in all the worlds be happy.' Jacky Storey experiences a different pace of life in Kerela, Southern India.
Amma walked along the path from her room, beside the temple towards her father's house, to bid him farewell before crossing the river by bridge to begin the first stage of her journey. She's not very tall, her black bushy hair, graying at the edges, pulled into a bunch behind her head, her body swathed in a spotless white sari. As she walks she is shaded, with a large white umbrella, from the relentless sun by one of her helpers. The two-hundred metre pathway, to the house, is lined with her admirers – at least a thousand of them – anxious to see her once more before she starts her three week 'Yatra' of Southern India.
Picture of 'Amma'. Source: http://www.amma.org.uk
Amma is leaving the Ashram in Amritapuri today. The ashram is spartan, there's little beauty. It's an international community that swells to around four thousand people at times. Many people from east and west have made it their permanent home. The accommodation is in high-rise blocks. It's all very crowded, one learns patience and tolerance here, while queuing for everything, but all basic needs are met.
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Yesterday and earlier this morning, trucks and buses were loaded with everything needed to sustain Amma and her three hundred and fifty followers on their trip. Following Amma is seen as a privilege but it's no soft option. She has relentless energy and the group will be on the road in wooden-seated buses, sleeping each night, often on the floor of school classrooms made into large dormitories for the purpose. For foreigners like me, there is the additional discomfort of the uncomfortable effects of spicy Indian food, as well as the heat and bugs.
Some of her devotees are sure Amma (mother) is an 'enlightened master', in the same league as Jesus or Buddha. Her teachings are more like those of the historical Jesus rather than the more theological interpretations of the Christ of faith. She preaches unconditional love and takes as her model the love a mother has for a child. In order to reinforce her message, she offers 'darshan'; a ritual hug that opens the receiver's heart to her love and enables them to connect to a purer form of universal energy, which they can then pass on in the form of selfless service. She is reputed to have hugged more than thirty five million people around the world, sometimes sitting still for up to fifteen hours, not eating or drinking until the line is gone. Many people cry – they have no idea why, but she wipes away their tears.
Along with the hugging, Amma has developed a world-wide network of charities staffed almost exclusively by volunteers. A passionate believer that we are all connected, should 'touch the earth lightly', and that education is the only way out of poverty, she wishes for a better distribution of resources and has started schools, hospitals, universities, pension schemes, housing projects, orphanages and much much more. Her administration costs use only four percent of the money she raises, through running her yatras, retreats and ashram. Because of this economical operation, she also receives many charitable donations.
Her dogma is humanitarian, she transcends the organised religions, embracing them all. She loves to sing and energetically leads the ashram residents and visitors in 'bharjans'; sacred songs, banging the microphone in time with the drum beat to encourage more participation. When she is in residence at the ashram, which is her family home, she leads meditation on the beach and in the temple. Her presence and the love she pushes out are so powerful that it's almost painful to be in the room with her.
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Amma stories abound. Her followers believe, 'she looks after things,' 'nothing bad will ever happen here, the energy is too pure', 'Amma knows everything and everyone.' She has been elevated to a god by her devotees and seems entirely without ego, accepting the adulation and respect humbly and gratefully.
As Amma and her followers sweep through the ashram and the surrounding area, devotees beg Amma to bless their belongings, they hold out books, photos, DVDs, jewellery and Amma paraphernalia. Their desire is to touch her and / or sit near her.
She has a special innocence with children and is often accompanied by a gaggle of them holding her hands, sitting on her lap or holding on to her sari. They too are attracted to her special energy.
After two weeks spent in Amma's presence and having received two ritual hugs, I feel a deep sense of inner peace. I've slowed down to a snail's pace, forgotten about the outside world and am enjoying the mindless daily tasks of my work in the kitchen -chopping ginger, grinding cinnamon, cleaning pumpkin, getting up early in the morning to meditate on the beach and living only in the present. I've lost weight, my blood sugar levels have plummeted and I'm full of energy.
As I line the path and join others wishing Amma well on her yatra, I feel her energy as she passes and an amazing sense of love and loss.
Amma is certainly a very special person, what she has achieved and the energy which she puts unto her life are a wonder to behold. Who or what is Amma? People here say 'she is connected to a different energy source.' Perhaps she is. Who or whatever she is, she has to be experienced in person, so come to Kerala or visit one of the places on her tours and experience her for yourself. Suspend your disbelief and give it a try. You might be surprised and receive a life-changing experience.